Catholic Identity & Mission News

Project Compassion Launch

The season of Lent, the 40-day period of preparation for Easter, is upon us again. Lent offers us the opportunity to reflect on how we are living our lives, the challenges we face and how through prayer, sacrifice and good works, we can address them. It is a time of penance and preparation. 

This week, we marked this important time in several ways. On Tuesday, our Cranbourne Youth Ministry and Clyde North Vocational Major students and teachers cooked up a storm of pancakes for ‘Shrove Tuesday’. Shrove Tuesday falls on the eve of the first day of Lent which is marked as ‘Ash Wednesday’. As Lent is often a time of abstinence when people ‘give things up’, the ritual of pancake making came about as people used up items such as flour, sugar, butter, egg, and such so they didn’t go to waste during the six weeks of Lent. At St. Peter’s, Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration before we commence a more reflective period and our staff and students enjoyed their delicious pancakes which also raised money for a very good cause that it also synonymous with Lent, Caritas’ Project Compassion campaign.

The Project Compassion campaign for the Diocese of Sale was launched by Bishop Greg Bennet on Tuesday at Lavalla College in Traralgon. I was able to attend this launch with our Social Justice Co-ordinators Denise Tan and Clarisse Campos, along with our student leaders Marcelina Tombra, Jake Bennett, Bonny Cortese, Kenny Keniseli, Mia Legeant and Sam Franks. We learned more about the wonderful work of Caritas Australia and their programs both in Australia and overseas. The 2023 theme, ‘For all future generations’ was explored as the realities of intergenerational poverty and climate change were in evidence in the case studies that Caritas is featuring in this year’s campaign. With other Catholic secondary and primary schools in attendance, there was unanimous agreement that we must respond to the needs of our world as Jesus would expect, with love, generosity, and hope. We have many plans in place to try to raise as much awareness and funds for Caritas this Lent so watch this space for ways that all in our College community can assist. 

Finally, Ash Wednesday was commemorated with House-based liturgies in extended Tutor Group time on Wednesday morning. Our Liturgy Captains, Scarlett Bastow (CRA) and Abigail Muigai (CLN) recorded introductions to these liturgies and then students from each House contributed with readings and prayers before the invitation to have a mark of ashes was made on participants’ foreheads. The ashes represent our own humanity and mortality – we are human and we fail, but with one life to live, we are called to renew our efforts for living as God would have us live – loving God and loving each other. Our liturgies closed with recorded messages from our Social Justice Captains, Sam Franks (CRA) and Mia Legeant (CLN) urging students and staff to get behind the Project Compassion campaign. 

With a week of celebration and preparation behind us, we pray that this Lent will be our most meaningful and generous yet.  

Clyde North Campus Captains: Jake Bennett and Marcelina Tombra

Cranbourne Campus Captains: Bonny Cortese and Kenni Keniseli

Social Justice Captains – Sam Franks (CRA) and Mia Legeant (CLN)

The St. Peter’s College contingent with Bishop Greg Bennet at the Project Compassion Launch.

Fiona McKenna

Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission